The Odyssey

After a residency at the Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne in 2016-2017-2018, the Debussy String Quartet is continuing its musical direction of L’Odyssée, an opera for twelve landscapes, with several soloists (soprano Jeanne Crousaud, tenor Fabien Hyon and baritone Laurent Deleuil) and a children’s choir.

Here, The Odyssey is seen through the eyes of Telemachus, the son of Ulysses and Penelope. On the beach, Telemachus, son of Ulysses, awaits his father’s return. He is joined by a group of children, probably the children of the sailors who have left. Together with Mentor, the leader of the gang, and Athena, a very young goddess, they console Telemachus, play games, sing to him and invent the exploits – but also the failures – of their fathers. Together, aided by fiction, they learn to grow up. This contemporary opera tackles the themes of childhood and the absent father, and shows just how relevant myths still are. Free, funny, incisive and modern prose, commissioned by the Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne.